And going back to the Race to Nowhere. This whole discussion diverged into early college entrance. Although we (and I put myself in to the guilty party) justify acceleration because our kids learn faster and we don't want them to get bored, where are they heading to? We are more guilty of racing our kids than the average parents.
Early college for our child has been the exact opposite of a race - more like a leisurely stroll without the stress of high school. Maybe that's the ultimate revealing illustration of the problem with the AP system, that many kids find college much less stressful with more time for open ended exploration.
Our kids are all different. Going "horizontal" works great for some kids. It is what we initially hoped for and tried hard to make work, but it wore thin quickly. Our child didn't want more enrichment with agemates, he wanted to be going forward in his education with other people ready to learn at the same level. Early college was the best way to provide it and still provide plenty of leisure time for pursuing interests in arts, sports, etc. etc. etc.
